SLA Fugitive Extradited to United States

Published 8:00 pm, Tuesday, December 17, 2002

Associated Press Writer

After more than 25 years on the run, James Kilgore _ one of America's most wanted fugitives _ flew home Wednesday to face charges of second-degree murder.

Kilgore, a former member of the Symbionese Liberation Army, was extradited from South Africa after agreeing with U.S. authorities to plead guilty to second-degree murder for a killing committed in California in 1975.

Kilgore, 55, was accompanied by American marshals and FBI agents on a flight to the United States, said U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Judy Moon.

"We are pleased the law has taken its course and that the extradition treaty we have with South Africa works as it is supposed to," Moon said, "Now that this side is finished, the next part begins with what is going to take place in California."

Kilgore had been living under the alias Charles William Pape and working as a researcher at the University of Cape Town for the past several years.

Married with two young sons, he lived a quiet suburban existence. He has said through his lawyer that he planned to return to South Africa after completing his prison sentence.

U.S. authorities spent more than 25 years searching for Kilgore, who is accused of shooting to death Myrna Opsahl during a 1975 holdup at the Crocker National Bank orchestrated by the SLA in suburban Sacramento, Calif.

South African police arrested Kilgore at his Cape Town home on Nov. 8, one day after four of his former SLA comrades pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges.

The SLA is best known for its kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst.

Kilgore's lawyers said they have negotiated a deal with Sacramento County officials in which he would plead guilty to second-degree murder for Opsahl's killing and receive a six-year prison term. He also will face federal charges of violating U.S. passport laws and illegally possessing explosives.

A spokesman for Kilgore's family said Kilgore feels remorse for Opsahl's death.